Toronto stocks closed higher Monday as shares of tech bellwether Nortel Networks surged to a 52-week high. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 23.51 points, at 7,636.01.

The information techonology sector powered ahead 4.5%, as Nortel shares rocketed up 65¢ to $.6.25. Over 67 million shares changed hands.

Bell Canada said on Monday that it would buy $200 million in Nortel equipment over three years in a move to provide its customers with telephone and multimedia services over the Internet.

BCE, Bell’s parent company, saw its shares slip 5¢ to $30.33

Toronto volume was 301 million shares worth $2.69 billion. Overall market sentiment was positive with advancers topping decliners 661 to 552.

The junior S&P/TSX composite index advanced 3.68 points to 1,345.98.

In New York, technology shares surged after a brokerage upgrade of IBM raised investor expectations of a rebounding economy. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index reached an 18-month high.

The Nasdaq gained 30.41, o 1,888.65.

The blue chips also finished higher. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 82.95 at 9,586.29, and the broader S&P 500 rose 10.25, to 1,031.64.

In economic news, Statistics Canada reported that municipalities issued building permits permits worth $4.53 billion in July, up 3.3% from June and just shy of the monthly record of $4.59 billion in January.

The Ivey Purchasing Managers Index for August came in at 51.1, up from 47.3 in July.